View from the research aircraft

At a distance of roughly 450 kilometres from the Eyjafjallajökull volcano, the DLR Falcon dived into the upper edge of the ash cloud at latitude 60°N, 15°W. Visibility for the crew reduced progressively, and the smell of sulphur dioxide – a characteristic feature of volcanic material – spread throughout the cabin of the Falcon. DLR scientists confirmed their first impressions during this measurement phase of the flight: "After 30 seconds in the ash cloud, we decided to leave this layer as rapidly as possible – but first of all we had to find our way back out of it," said mission leader and DLR scientist Oliver Reitebuch as he summarised this somewhat precarious situation.